U.S. equities finished off a volatile week in the red today, following a slew of mixed economic data and lingering Fed tapering concerns. In economic news, the University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer sentiment reading came in at 82.7, below the 84.5 expectation. In separate reports, producer prices rose more than expected, while the current account deficit widened in Q1. Adding to woes, the IMF revised its U.S. growth outlook for 2013 down to 2.7% [see The Cheapest ETF for Every Investment Objective].

Closing out a volatile week, all three major U.S. equity indexes fell to close in negative territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA, B) fell 0.75%, as its underlying index logged in its fourth triple-digit move in a row. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY, A) shed 0.64%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq ETF (QQQ, A-) lost 0.62%.

The S&P Global Energy Index Fund (IXC, A+) was one of the worst performers today, shedding 1.17% during the session. Energy shares were among today’s worst performers, forcing this ETF to gap lower at the open. IXC traded lower throughout the day, eventually settling at at $39.79 a share [see Energy Bull ETFdb Portfolio].